Throughout LRI'S website – the following terms are used interchangeably: Workforce readiness skills, workplace success skills, soft skills, employability skills, interpersonal skills, workplace behaviors, behavioral competencies, social skills, career readiness skills and behavioral effectiveness skills. Skills and competencies are also used as synonyms.

Office Success Skills (OSS) with Demo

A window into video-based assessment

The following video simulation is typical of an office-based customer service situation.

Work Readiness Components

The following table presents a way of thinking about the knowledge, skills and abilities required of any job. It identifies the three sets of competencies required for success in the workplace. LRI’s expertise is in behavioral – or soft skill – competencies.

Jobs

Competencies

Personali

Type:
Basic Office Support

Academic

Behavioral
Office Success Skills (OSS)

Technical

Interests and
Aptitudes

Office Success Skills (OSS) is an industry-validated and video-delivered soft skills assessment program. OSS measures the competencies required by employers for jobs in a wide range of office positions: administrative assistant, IT support, clerk and others. The program identifies both the current competencies and the developmental needs of individuals. When skill development is suggested, strategies are identified to support the attainment of those skills. Because of its validity, OSS is used in support of hiring and promotion decisions.

OSS skills include:

Customer Relations

Organizing and Prioritizing

Problem Solving

Candidates also review text passages (presented on videotape) and report the number of proofreading errors they observe. Other exercises require candidates to compare two columns of numbers and, under time pressure, identify how many pairs of numbers don't match. This also measures attention to detail. A Demo of Module 1 is available at no cost.

Developing soft skills

The OSS Feedback Report, which is the basic product of LRI's assessment process, clearly identifies soft skill strengths and provides suggestions for creating individual or group Development Plans to address deficits.

LRI-provided Implementation Training and Development (ITD) prepares staff to create Individual Development Plans for assessed workers, integrate soft skills into courses/workshops, interact with employers and more. ITD ensures that workers/learners and their managers/instructors are in agreement as to developmental activities; managers receive practical, hands-on experience that enables them to help workers develop soft skills over time.

A Discussion Guide (click here for excerpts from the Guide) that can be used in support of development; it provides situations that can be discussed in classes or workshops led by workforce professionals. Guidelines for the facilitators/teachers ensure their familiarity with what employers consider to be best – and least effective – practice.

Thttp://library/OSS_GroupRept.pdfools are provided to support supervisors, mentors and others build individuals’ soft skills post-employment and during internships, apprenticeships or subsidized work experience.

An additional Report, the Interview Guide, supports employers who interview the individual; it can also be used to identify specific inconsistencies in the individual’s skill levels.

OSS Content and Delivery Information

The OSS assessment tape contains 72 minutes of video during which the viewer responds to these work-related questions: 24 interpersonal situations; 10 proofreading questions; and, 15 number-match questions. This tape is recorded in English and Spanish; English open captioning is available.